Meal planning is just what it sounds like - planning out your meals in advance, so you know what you’ll be eating for every meal the next week, month, or whatever period you choose to meal plan for.

It can help minimize food waste, as well as save money and time. It’s also one of the best strategies to help you eat healthy meals.

Planning meals in advance might seem overwhelming if you’ve never done it, but when you start doing it, it becomes completely natural.

To take away the beginning overwhelm, here is a comprehensive guide to help you effectively and successfully plan meals and stick to them.

Meal Planning Guide

Benefits Of Meal Planning

Creating a grocery list easily

Meal planning has tons of benefits. First of all, having a clear meal plan will help you create a grocery list.

Since you’ll know every meal you’ll be eating, you’ll know what ingredients you’ll need, so you can do the grocery shopping for the whole week.

Saving money

Having a grocery list will help you save money, since you’ll know exactly what you’re buying in the grocery store, and you’ll only be getting the items you actually need.

Minimize food waste

A meal plan and a clear grocery list will also minimize food waste, as you’ll only be getting the food you’ll be using, so nothing will be wasted or not used.

Save time and energy

You’ll be able to do the grocery shopping in advance for the whole week, because you’ll actually know all of the ingredients you’ll need for each meal.

So, a meal plan can also help you save time and energy.

Every day, you’ll know exactly what you’re making that day, and since you already did the grocery shopping, you’ll just need to cook the meals - no last-minute grocery shopping anymore.

It’s perfect for those busy days.

Meal Planning Tips And Tricks

Think of full days

When you’re coming up with your meal plan, think of the full day of eating. Is it not too much cooking for the whole day? Do the dishes go together? Can you use the same ingredients for a few different meals during the week to make a better use of your budget?

Gather the recipes

To make everything even quicker for you, you can gather all of the recipes you’ll need throughout the week for the meals you plan, so you don’t have to search for them every day.

You can also make a note of which appliances you’ll need each day so you can prepare them in advance - slow cooker, pressure cooker, toaster, air fryer, blender, etc.

Meal prep

Meal prepping some meals or even just parts of meals is great for busy days when you don’t have time to cook.

You can meal prep for a few days in advance, and put the dishes in the fridge or freezer, depending on when you’ll be eating them.

Then you can just heat them up and have delicious meals ready to eat when you want.

Think about nutrients

When you look at the whole day of eating, does your day have enough fruits and vegetables? Enough protein?

Think about nutrients for the whole day when you’re creating a meal plan, not just for individual meals.

Also, if some meals aren’t that healthy and filled with nutrients, try to make other meals that day super good for you.

Make sure every meal ideally has fiber, protein, healthy fats, and a healthy carb.

Easy Meal Planning Recipes

Now, here are some easy meals you can add to your meal plan. These are a few of my favorite recipes that I always include in my meal plans.

Chicken, Asparagus, Avocado and Rice

454 calories

Ingredients:

6 oz Chicken breast, boneless, skinless, raw - 190 calories
1 cup Asparagus spears, chopped - 27 calories
½ Avocado, small - 116.5 calories
½ cup Rice, brown, cooked - 120 calories
1 Everything bagel seasoning, dash - 0 calories

Instructions:

Spray pan with an oil spray. Cube chicken and cut off hard ends of asparagus.
Cook chicken for ~10 minutes on low heat, until chicken has cooked through.
Cook rice as instructed on package.
Serve with avocado on the side.
Season.
No chicken? Use beans, tofu, or fish.

Salad with Salmon and Brussels

431 calories

Ingredients:

4 oz Salmon fillet - 200 calories
1 cup Brussels sprouts - 56 calories
2 cups Leafy greens, arugula, raw - 10 calories
⅓ cup Cheese, crumbled, blue cheese - 159 calories
2 Tbsp Red wine vinegar (Tbsp) - 6 calories
1 Salt, dash - 0 calories

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Line baking sheet with parchment paper, spray with an oil spray.
Cook salmon for 15-20 minutes, or until flakes easily.
Cut Brussels sprouts’ hard ends off, and cut in halves.
On stove-top, spray pan with oil spray. Stir-fry Brussels for 15 minutes, mixing occasionally.
Mix all ingredients into a salad.
No dairy? Use nuts.

Egg Bites in Muffin Tins with Veggies

272 calories

Ingredients:

2 Egg, large - 144 calories
⅓ cup Cheese, shredded, mozzarella - 112 calories
1 Everything bagel seasoning, dash - 0 calories
1 cup Leafy greens, spinach, raw - 7 calories
¼ Bell pepper, red - 9.25 calories

Instructions:

This recipe works best if you’re making 2 or 3 servings at once.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Spray a pan with an oil spray.
Dice pepper. Cook on medium heat ~3 minutes.
Crack eggs in a bowl and whisk with a fork, add in other ingredients.
Pour evenly in muffin tin. Silicone muffin tins work best.
Bake for 20 minutes, or until eggs have set.
No dairy? Use bacon.

Meal Planning Template

Here is a meal planner you can download and use to plan meals for as many days of the week as you want. It’s for one week, so you can just duplicate it and use it for all of the upcoming weeks.